Sammy’s Soup: my favorite chill-chaser

By now, most New Yorkers have had it with the cold, wind and rain. We are all ready to get some spring on, but April has been especially slow in delivering this year with it’s mere four dry days to date, only two of which included sunshine. However, I am told that the weekend will give us reason to give our rain boots a rest. Amen to that!

In the meantime, this long patch of cold, soggy weather has inspired me to rediscover the joys of Asian soup. Sammy’s Noodle Shop of Greenwich Village is among the first places I think of when I need to fulfill the urge for something warm, nutritious, filling and won’t leave you feeling like you should walk past three subway stops in order to digest it.

Sammy's Noodle Shop's Vegetable Tofu Soup

I’m especially fond of their tofu vegetable soup. It comes in a huge bowl and it’s made from a chicken stock base. It’s ingredients are spinach, chopped green onion, generous amounts of smooth silken tofu and tomatoes.

Nothing soothes the insides quite like it when it’s so miserable outside. It’s so good, it’s often pushed me to brave the elements just for a fix…unwittingly helping me to counter cabin-fever-like feelings I get during the cold months.

The only real downside to the soup is that the tomatoes are not always the sweetest. I can’t help but wonder how much better the soup would taste with a few slices of locally grown vine tomatoes in it, instead of the generic beefsteak ones that Sammy’s seems to favor. That said, it’s a fabuloulsy delicious meal that’s high in vitamins, low on calories and kind to the budget. The soup is under $7. Oh, and if outdoors is just not in the cards for you, when it’s lousy out…Sammy’s does deliver and accepts credit cards too.

As for other items on Sammy’s menu: try them. Their steamed vegetable dumplings are the best in the Village and are superior to some of Chinatown’s top-rated restaurants. The dumplings are made on site.